Seven Strikes and You're Dead
by HardRockPrincess
Summary: Max is forced to have Bradley Uppercrust live with him after Bradley's father runs into financial trouble. Will they rip each other apart, or will a deadly situation affecting both of them make them forget their feud and team up? And what will this situation do to Max's relationship with his father, Goofy? Full summary inside. Rated T for violence. ON HIATUS
1. Unwanted Houseguest

**For some strange reason I have become very attached to the father/son relationship between Goofy and Max and I wanted to try to write a story about them. Well this isn't entirely about them, but they are included majorly later on. I hope I can be more constant with my updates and since I don't have a lot of homework so far I might be able to update more often than I used to. I am writing this while it is fresh in my mind. This takes place the summer after "An Extremely Goofy Movie."**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Goofy, Max, or any characters that appeared in "A Goofy Movie" or "An Extremely Goofy Movie" **

**Summary: Max gets the worst news ever. His archrival Bradley Uppercrust III has to stay at his house for the summer when Bradley's father gets into financial troubles. These two adversaries have to get along with each other if they want to get through the summer. But when Bradley accidentally pulls Max in trouble with a gang that is out for his blood, he, Max, and Max's friends have to take them down before someone dies. The hardest part is keeping this problem from Max's embarrassing dad, Goofy.**

~Sylvia's House~

Goofy slowly woke up on a Sunday morning in June. The sun snuck his way into his eyes causing him to squint to get used to it. He looked to his right and was a little surprised to see that it was almost 11:00. So far, things were going his way: he had gotten his college degree, he found a good job at the local bank in Spoonerville, he had made amends with his son Max, and he had a new girlfriend, Sylvia Marpole. He spent the last weekend of June at her house to give Max some time to himself and to get to know Sylvia better.

Goofy let out a loud yawn, stretched his arms and legs and plodded his way to Sylvia's room across from his. Goofy and Sylvia may be going out, but they want to wait a while before they start taking new _steps _in their relationship since he still had Max who was close to his mother, Penelope, before she died.

Goofy knocked on her door but there was no answer. He called her name and she didn't answer and she wasn't in the room when he pushed the door open. _Where is Sylvia,_ Goofy thought. His question got an immediate answer when he heard Sylvia arguing downstairs with some man. Curious, he walked downstairs and saw the principal of Max's college, Principal Dean Williams, in a civil, yet tense, argument with Sylvia.

"No, absolutely not!" Sylvia said shrilly.

"Sylvia," said Principal Williams calmly, "we have to ask him. He is the only one left who will –"

"Are you insane? Do you remember what that horrible boy tried to do to him and Max?" Sylvia demanded. Goofy knew instantly whatever they were arguing about had something to do with him.

"Look it is just a roof over his head until he –"

"Goofy will never agree to this! And I may not know Max that well yet, but I know this news will not over well with him," Sylvia exclaimed.

"I will never agree to what?" Goofy asked as he walked into the room. Both heads swiveled toward Goofy and Sylvia groaned.

"Ah Goofy, good morning to you," said Principal Williams in an overly friendly manner.

"Good morning Principal Williams," said Goofy simply.

"I have a favor for you Goofy. There is a student here who is going into his senior year in college. His father got into financial troubles, they are close to broke, and he has no way of income. He is paid through the year but he needs money to cover his meal plan, dorm occupation, and everything else. He needs and job and a roof over his head until school starts back up. Do you think you could –"

"Of course, I'd be glad to help!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Oh good thank you," Principal Williams said with relief. Sylvia gave Principal Williams an annoyed look.

"Aren't you going to tell him _who _is going to stay with him for _two months_?" Sylvia asked skeptically. The smile on Principal Williams' face slipped off as quickly as it came and he gulped nervously.

"Well I, uh… I'll introduce you to the student. I think you two are very… familiar with each other," he said with his voice slightly shaking. He went outside to get the student. When he came back, Goofy's jaw dropped at who he had just offered to share his house with.

"WHAT!?" the student cried. "I am going to being staying with a bunch of _GOOFS_?" he exclaimed.

"Mr. Uppercrust I know that –"

"NO! I refuse to spend the rest of my summer with HIM and his SON! I'd rather be homeless!" Bradley Uppercrust III screamed.

"Principal Williams, may I please talk to you and Sylvia in the hall?" Goofy asked in a hushed tone. Sylvia and Principal Williams followed him into the hall. Goofy checked to make sure Bradley couldn't hear them.

"Why didn't you tell me it was going to be _him_?" Goofy asked in a stern tone.

"You probably wouldn't have said yes if you knew that –"

"Bradley almost killed my son," Goofy said almost angrily.

"I know and I am sorry, but he has to stay somewhere and you are the last people left I could find. If you didn't say yes he would be on the streets," Principal Williams explained.

"I honestly believe he would be happier on the streets," Sylvia mumbled.

"Sylvia!" exclaimed the principal "I'm surprised at you!"

"Well you heard what he said! He said that he'd rather be homeless than stay with Goofy. I am pretty sure Goofy feels the same way," Sylvia said, whose patience was running thin.

"Well… I don't want him to be homeless, but I don't want him staying with me either," Goofy admitted.

"It's one or the other Mr. Goof. You can't have both," the principal said with a firm look in his eye. Sylvia glared daggers at Principal Williams.

Goofy sighed. "Okay I'll take him in. But I won't take any attitude from him," Goofy said.

"We don't expect you to," Sylvia said. They walked back into the room where a fuming Bradley was standing, arms crossed, and steam practically coming out of his ears.

"Bradley, get your things from the Gamma House into Mr. Goof's car," said Principal Williams. Bradley grunted but did what he was told.

Goofy drove to the Gamma House where Bradley had all of his belongings packed out and Tank, Bradley's former right-hand man, was more than happy to see Bradley kicked out.

"Yeah and don't come back BABY!" Tank exclaimed with a triumphant laugh. Goofy felt guilty about the twinge of vindictive pleasure of seeing Tank shove Bradley to the ground. Bradley grudgingly stood up, and hopped into the backseat of the car.

"Bradley," Goofy said in a firm tone.

"What?" Bradley snapped.

"Unless another car in coming along to pick up your things, your boxes go _into _the trunk," Goofy said.

"I know," Bradley hissed.

"_You _are going to load those boxes into the car. _I _am not going to do it for you," Goofy told him and showed him he won't put up with Bradley's nonsense. Bradley growled and stepped out of the car to load his belongings, which he was struggling too much with. Goofy fought the urge to roll his eyes when he realized it took Bradley a half an hour to load his things before it was time for Goofy to drive off. About five minutes into the drive Goofy realized something and clumsily parked the car next to a telephone booth.

"What are you doing?" Bradley asked rudely.

"I'm calling Max to tell him who is coming home with me. He is going to angry about this and whatever anger he has to spit I'd rather have him get most of it out before we get home. You better get out too," Goofy said.

"I am NOT going to talk to your son," Bradley said sharply.

"You will do as I say. If you are going to stay with me you listen to me," Goofy said as if this statement settled it. Bradley growled for what seemed to be the hundredth time and stomped out of the car. Goofy dialed the home number on the telephone and secretly prayed the machine would take it.

~Goof Residence~

Max was outside skateboarding with PJ and Bobby. He finally mastered the Anti-Casper he had been working on for two weeks.

"Hey Max-a-million, you mastered it!" Bobby yelled out and gave a wolf howl.

"Yes I did," said Max and looked into space with a serene smile plastered on his face.

"Max what's up? You look like you're on Cloud 9," PJ said who looked amused.

"Roxanne called me last night," he said still staring off into space.

"Ooooh, Roxanne huh," PJ teased.

"Max and Roxanne sitting in a –"

"Don't finish that sentence Bobby," Max said who was trying, and failing, to look annoyed. "Anyway Roxanne coming home from college and we're going to spend a lot of time together."

"Well don't get too lovesick around us okay?" PJ requested.

"Well PJ, Elena is going to come in July and spend the rest of the summer here," Max said. **(A/N: Elena is the Beret Girl from "An Extremely Goofy Movie" I wanted to give her a name) **

"Oh right. I can't wait to see my little Java Bean," PJ said who was also now smiling serenely.

"Stacey is also coming home with Roxanne," Max said to Bobby.

"Oh right. I can't want to see Braces again," Bobby said and was now slightly dancing.

"Why do you still call her Braces?" asked Max. "She got them off when she was fifteen."

"She liked the nickname so I kept calling her that," explained Bobby.

"Didn't you two break up three years ago?" PJ asked skeptically.

"Yes. But two days ago, we video chatted and wanted to give it another shot because we haven't forgotten about each other and we think we might me more able to carry out a relationship," explained Bobby.

"Come on guys it's time for lunch. I'll heat up the leftover pizza from last night," said Max.

"No Max _I _will work the oven. You can't cook to save your life," said PJ amused.

"Yeah remember when you tried to heat up tomato soup on the stove?" asked Bobby.

"The soup exploded and covered almost every bit of the kitchen," PJ said. Both he and Bobby laughed at the memory.

"Okay if you two are done criticizing my cooking abilities I want to have some pizza," Max said. PJ got the pizza out of the freezer and Max and Bobby sat down at the table. A few minutes later the phone rang and Max picked it up.

"Hello. It's Max Goof," said Max.

"Heya Maxie," he heard his father on the other end.

"Oh hi Dad how was your weekend with Sylvia?" asked Max.

"It was good and I am coming home now. Listen Max, I have something to tell you," his father said a little nervously.

"Dad what did you break?" Max groaned.

"I didn't break anything! Well, at least nothing important. But that's not what this is about. We have someone staying with us for the summer," Goofy said.

"Is Sylvia moving in?" Max asked excitedly.

"I wish it was her," Goofy said glumly. Max began to get suspicious. "Look our house guest is a student going into his senior year at your college. He father got into financial troubles and is close to broke. He needs to stay at our house this summer so he has a way of income and is going to be working for Pete until he can pay for his dorm occupation and food."

"Dad I don't have a problem with sharing our house with another student. Maybe we could be friends," Max said, not knowing what the problem was.

"Yeah Max, I haven't told you _who _the student is yet," Goofy said, getting more nervous by the minute.

"Who is it?" Max asked.

"Uh… I'll put you on the phone with him," Goofy said.

"Dad why can't you just say… Dad, are you still there?" Max asked.

"No," said a bored and irritated voice.

"Hello, is this the guy that is staying with us?" Max asked.

"Yes it is," the guy hissed. Max's eyes widened. He had heard this voice before.

"Wait, this isn't…" Max began hoping his suspicions were wrong.

"Hello _Freshman_," the student snapped. This was the voice of Bradley Uppercrust III.

"YOU!" Max yelled into the phone. "How DARE you come crawling to US for help after everything you pulled last year!"

"Well I didn't choose the outcome, _Freshman_," Bradley retorted.

"It's _Sophomore_ now!" Max yelled.

"Max is everything okay?" PJ asked. Max turned around and saw PJ and Bobby giving him odd looks.

"Wait here guys," Max told them. He stormed upstairs to his room. "Bradley I swear to God if you try anything fishy here –"

"Really, would I do that?" asked Bradley, feigning confusion.

"You know what? Get me back on the phone with my dad!" Max demanded.

"Okay, but only because I don't want to listen to your irritating voice any more than I'm going to," said Bradley, annoyed. Goofy picked up the phone again.

"Max I know you're mad right now but –"

"BRADLEY UPPERCRUST! Bradley Uppercrust THE THIRD is staying with US for TWO MONTHS!" Max practically exploded. "Have you forgotten what he did to ME, what he did to YOU?"

"No Max I haven't forgotten. Look I am not going to put up with his attitude and you won't either, and you have every right to be sore about this, heck even I am. But since he's going to be here for the summer, can you try to be civil with him?" Goofy pleaded.

"I will if he will," Max responded through clenched teeth.

"I guess that's all I can ask of you. Anyway I called because it will take about three hours to get home and I wanted you to get all of your anger out before we come home," Goofy explained.

"Well, thanks for giving me a heads up," Max said, trying to keep his anger in check.

"When you do get your anger out, can you try not to break anything?" Goofy asked.

"I am making no promises," Max hissed.

"Okay bye son," Goofy said in a small voice.

"Bye," Max said and furiously hung up the phone. He grabbed his pillow and pressed it to his face and screamed into it. He began taking deep breaths in and out through his mouth. _How dare he, _Max thought bitterly. How dare Bradley come ruin his summer! He had already caused him enough anxiety during the school year. Max had never forgiven him for almost killing PJ, playing a role in Bobby's injuries, leaving Tank to die, trying to kill him, and playing a major role in the rift between him and his dad that year. Max calmed himself down by imagining himself strangling Bradley with his bare hands. While Max grinned at the idea, he would never go through with that because he did not condone killing people and he didn't want to get sent to jail. When he lifted his head from the pillow he saw PJ and Bobby looking at him nervously.

"What happened man?" Bobby asked.

"We have a new house guest for the summer," Max said bitterly. He explained everything his dad told him to PJ and Bobby.

"Why is that such a problem?" PJ asked.

"I haven't told you who the house guest is," Max said, still fuming.

"Well, who is it?" Bobby asked.

"I'll give you a hint. Who is the guy that loosened the bolts on your bike," he gestured to Bobby "and put remote control rockets on you skates?" he gestured to PJ. PJ and Bobby's eyes widened.

"BRAD!" they exclaimed.

"Yes," Max hissed.

"He is staying HERE!" PJ yelled, who seemed almost as angry as Max.

"Yes, can we just go outside and skate? I want to get my mind off of Bradley," Max said angrily.

"Okay but how will skating help?" Bobby asked.

"I am going to pretend the skating ramp is Bradley's face," Max said with a crooked smile. PJ and Bobby gave half-hearted laughs at this comment.

Max wanted to enjoy the last three hours of freedom before his Royal Lowness invaded his house. He was going to drive Bradley crazy every chance he got. He knew that Bradley was going to do the same to him. If Bradley was going to ruin his summer, Max figured he would take Bradley down with him.

**I know this chapter wasn't wonderful and it may have been a little boring, but this chapter's purpose was to set the scene. The later chapters will be much better I promise.**


	2. Home Sweet Home - Not!

**Alright, I can no longer make any promises about regular updates because I haven't been able to keep those promises. One moment when I think my school has finally begun to lighten up on the work load, it gets worse. May and June have been long due to the amount of work they gave us. We had five snow days in January and February and all my teachers were trying to cram in last minute assignments. They have also been keeping us busy in preparing for final exams. But now that exams are over, I can't promise regular updates, but I hope I can update more often than I did during the school year. Enjoy this chapter.**

Max was enjoying the last few hours left before Bradley Uppercrust invades his house. After Max, P.J. and Bobby finished their pizza they began to do more difficult skateboarding tricks and amused themselves by pretending the ramp was Bradley's face. His moment of enjoyment came to an end when he heard his dad's car pull into the driveway with their unwanted guest.

"Ugh! My dad and our little _houseguest _have arrived." Max spat out the word 'houseguest' as though it were an incredibly foul tasting medicine.

"Well one good thing may come from this. Maybe you and your dad can knock Bradley Stuck-up Crust down a peg or two," said P.J.

"It won't stop him from being a jerk," Max muttered.

"For some people, not even the kindness and hospitality of a pure-soul individual can turn an arrogant, bitter soul, into one more pleasant and beautiful," P.J. responded poetically.

"I beg your pardon?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing can stop him from being a jerk," said P.J., losing the poetic sound in his voice.

"Man, you have been hanging around Elena waaaaay too much," said Bobby, shaking his head.

"I will take that as a compliment," said P.J., confidently.

"Maxie! Please help me unload car! Mr. Uppercrust isn't being very cooperative!" Goofy shouted.

"Why am I not surprised?" Max grumbled sarcastically. Max stomped over to the car with his skateboard still in his hands and his dad was trying very hard to get Bradley to come out of the car and unload his things, but Bradley just kept arguing.

"Bradley, for the last time, _you_ are going to unload your _own _things. _I _am not going to do it for you," said Goofy, sternly.

"FINE! Will you stop pestering me if I do?" Bradley exploded.

"Well he wouldn't have to pester you if you would just pull your own weight," Max snarled. Bradley and Goofy turned toward Max.

"Thank goodness," said Goofy, rubbing his forehead, "I was beginning to lose my patience with him."

"Well I have already lost my patience with you," Bradley spat and he turned toward Max. "Hello _Max._"

"Bradley," Max responded through gritted teeth. The two began a glare-down and Goofy stepped in.

"Alright Bradley just take your bags inside. The guestroom is upstairs, second door to your right," Goofy explained. Bradley nodded in Goofy's direction, grabbed two of his bags and dragged them into the house.

"Dad, why are we letting that _jerk-wad _into our home?" Max complained.

"I already told you that it is just a roof over his head until his father comes out of financial troubles. I am going to talk to Pete about getting him a job at his car business so he probably won't be around too much," said Goofy.

"Why didn't you just reject the offer?" asked Max, albeit whiny.

"I didn't know who it was until after I accepted," Goofy explained.

"Did you even bother to find who it was before you accepted?" asked Max with arms crossed and an annoyed look plastered on his face.

"Even if I did, apparently Principal Williams wasn't going to tell me who it was until after I accepted," said Goofy.

"Uh-huh," Max responded unconvinced.

"I'm serious! I didn't know that of all the students that were going to live with us, it would be him!" Goofy exclaimed defensively. Max only narrowed his eyes into slits and Goofy let out a low sigh.

"Max I really am sorry I didn't ask first. I would never have said yes if I knew it would be him," Goofy pleaded with Max. Max could tell that Goofy was being sincere and the anger and annoyance at his father slowly began to fizzle out.

"Okay I believe you. But I am not going to invite him to join anything I have planned this summer," said Max.

"He'll be working so you most likely won't have to," said Goofy. Bradley walked back outside to retrieve another one of his boxes.

"Okay let me grab the last of my boxes and don't disturb me for the rest of the night," Bradley demanded.

"But you have to eat dinner," Goofy insisted.

"I'll eat on my own time," Bradley responded.

"But –"

"Dad, just let him eat on his own time. We should give the guest what he wants right," Max said, hoping his dad would catch on.

"But you said that –"

"Dad, I am trying to get him as far away from us as possible. If that means letting him not eat dinner with us, so be it," Max whispered. Goofy finally understood and agreed to let Bradley eat dinner on his own time.

"What will you eat for dinner?" asked Goofy.

"I'll look in the fridge to see for myself," said Bradley.

"No, I will look for you. I don't want you rummaging through any of our belongings because after the events of this year, I don't trust you," Max responded.

Bradley rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

Max glared at him. He then noticed a steel black box shut with a combination lock on it in the backseat of the car and picked it up.

"Bradley is this yours?" asked Max. Bradley turned his head in Max's direction and his eyes widened in fear when he saw the box Max had in his hands.

"Yes and give it here now," Bradley demanded, the look of fear still in his eyes.

"What's in it?" asked Max.

"It's none of your concern and I plan to keep it that way," Bradley responded, stubbornly.

"If it is anything that will hurt or humiliate me open it now," Max growled.

"No. My dad told me to keep it locked," said Bradley, urgently.

"So it _is_ something that will hurt or humiliate me?" Max questioned.

"I didn't say that! It's something private and I am not supposed to show to anyone," said Bradley, getting annoyed. And with that he stomped back inside the house.

"I still don't trust him, dad," said Max with narrowed eyes.

"I'll keep a close eye on him. You can count on me," said Goofy, confidently, but ruined it when he tripped on Max's skateboard and fell on the sidewalk, causing Max to groan.

"You know, I think I should keep an eye on Bradley too," said Max, helping his dad up.

"Yeah, good idea. How many times have I told you not to leave your skateboard lying around?" asked Goofy.

_How many times have I asked you to look where you're going? _Max thought rather bitterly. But he chose not to say this aloud.

"Sorry dad," Max apologized, insincerely.

"Don't worry about it. Are P.J. and Bobby staying for dinner?" asked Goofy.

"No, but I'll ask them. If I have to deal with His Royal Lowness alone, I'll go insane," Max said with a scowl. Max walked around outback to see P.J. and Bobby betting with each other.

"The deal is I give you fifty dollars if I win –"

"Yeah and you give me a hundred dollars if I win," said Bobby.

"How come I'll only get fifty and you'll get a hundred?" P.J. questioned.

"Because I am more likely to win," Bobby responded cockily.

"Do I even want to know what you guys are betting on?" asked Max.

"Oh Max you're back. You didn't tear Stuck-up Crust apart?" asked P.J., slightly hopeful.

"Not yet, but I think he might be planning something. He had this steel box with a combination lock on it that he freaked out over me finding," said Max. "Now tell me what you two were betting on."

"We were betting on how long it will take before you snap and attack Bradley. P.J. thinks it will be one week, I think it will be three days," said Bobby.

"I still don't know why you will get a hundred dollars if you win!" exclaimed P.J., defensively. Bobby ignored him.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I snap after the first day," Max grumbled. "Do you two want to stay over for dinner?"

"I'd love to," said P.J.

"I can't. I'm still grounded for a week and if the old woman finds out I snuck out, she'll extend the grounding to two weeks or more," said Bobby, grumpily.

"Well I would take your mother any day over _him,_" Max spat out the last word. P.J. and Bobby both knew "him" was Bradley.

~The Guestroom~

Bradley got the last of his bags into the guestroom and slammed the door loudly.

"I am trapped in a house full of GOOFS!" he exclaimed and kicked the wall, only to have a sharp pain run through his toes. He grunted in pain and sat on the bed. He was beyond furious with his dad for running broke, for Principal Williams for making him stay with the stupid Goofs, and with the Goofs for just existing.

He absolutely loathed Max for ruining his life. He still remembered the day after the X-Games. His father screamed himself hoarse at Bradley for "disgracing the Uppercrust name" and yelled a bunch of stuff about how his mother would be ashamed of him if she were still alive, how he lost so much money to pay for the injuries of the other contestants, and how he, Bradley, was almost as bad as his older sister. Bradley sighed sadly at the thought of his sister, Lucy. He shook his head and tried not to think about her because the thought was too painful.

He stared at the box his father gave him and was annoyed that he let Max see it. He may have hated the Goofs, Max especially, but there was no way he was going to get them involved with this dangerous situation. He was also hoping he didn't having to come in contact with the monsters that were after what was in the box. He refused to admit it but he was terrified with the mission his dad gave him to protect the object in box and he was terrified of the people after it, especially their leader, Marlene Jacobs.

Before he could dwell on this any longer, a knock came on the door.

"Bradley," he heard the voice of Goofy.

_Oh great, now I have to deal with this idiot, _Bradley thought, annoyed. "What?" he snapped back.

"What are you going to eat for dinner?" asked Goofy.

"I'll get it myself," Bradley responded rudely. He swung the door open, not caring that it almost hit Goofy in his stupid face.

"Well, tell me what you want and I'll –"

"No, _I _will get it myself. You are _not _going to do anything for me. I have no intention of accepting any of your so-called _kindness,_" Bradley hissed.

"Listen to me –"

"No _you _listen! I know what you are trying to do and it won't work! You are just pretending to be kind to me so I'll see the 'error of my ways' from last year. Well guess _what, _I don't need you to tell me what I did was wrong because my dad has already gotten on my case about it. And secondly, don't you _dare _act as though you and Max were the only ones who suffered because of the events of last year," Bradley snapped, sounding as though he had wanted to say this for quite a while.

Goofy looked away for a minute and then responded. "It is very clear to me that you have no remorse for your actions. So I am not afraid to tell you that you're not here because we want here."

"Do you think I don't know that? Move aside I'm getting my dinner," he said through clenched teeth. He pushed past Goofy, who was now too angry to think of a worthy retort.

~Backyard~

"… and that is pretty much everything that has been happening," said Elena Jennings said to her boyfriend P.J.

"Wow, you're really considering becoming a police officer. I thought you would become an artist or poet," said P.J., amazed.

"It's a hobby Papa Dog. I have loved the idea of protecting the ones who need it," said Elena.

"Well, you seem to have the motivation and the potential to become a police officer," P.J. complimented.

"Thank you. How are things over in your little town?" asked Elena.

"They are great my little Java Bean, except for one thing. His Royal Lowness is staying at Max's house for the summer," said P.J., resentfully.

"Oh that is like lemon juice in my eyes. Don't let Mr. Stuck-up Crust drag your karma down okay?" Elena advised.

"I won't. Thanks for calling," said P.J.

"Any time," Elena responded before she hung up.

"Elena wants to be a police officer?" Max questioned.

"Yeah, I never suspected wither. But somehow I can see her as a police officer," said P.J.

"Of course you would. You always try to see the best in your little girlfriend," Max teased.

"What about you with Roxanne?" P.J. teased back. Max's cheeks went scarlet and P.J. smirked when Max looked away and murmured, "Shut up" to him.

Goofy walked into the backyard looking more than just a little annoyed.

"What's wrong dad?" asked Max.

"Bradley took the leftover pasta we were going to have for dinner. I tried to get it back but he just pushed me out of his room," said Goofy, deadpanned.

"Ugh! _We_ were going to have that for _our_ dinner!" exclaimed Max.

"I know. Can you please go upstairs and try to get it back from him?" Goofy requested.

Max did not go quietly. He let out a loud groan and stomp back into the house and up to the guest room cursing his principal for sending Bradley to their house, cursing his dad for letting Bradley into their house, and cursing Bradley for just being in his house.

Max banged repeatedly on Bradley's door. "Hey Brad! You're eating our dinner!"

"You said I could have whatever was in the fridge for my dinner."

"No I said you could eat dinner on your _own time_. I did _not _say you could just steal the food that my dad worked for to get!"

"Well if I'm living with you Goofs, your food is my food."

"Bradley, open this door!"

"No!"

"I will kick the door open if you don't open it now!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

With that remark, Max kicked the door so hard it almost hit the wall in the guestroom. Max stormed over to where Bradley was eating pasta and reading some book.

"Look Brad, I don't like the fact that you're here anymore than you do. But if you are going to live with us, you are going to listen to us so …" Max trailed off when he saw the book that Bradley was reading. Max snatched the book from him and saw that Bradley had been looking through their family album.

"You've been reading our album!? That's private! You had no right to look through it!" exclaimed Max.

"Well it was in _my _room so therefore it _is_ my right to look through it," Bradley retorted, with some pasta still in his mouth.

Max scrunched up his face in disgust and flipped through the album to make sure Bradley didn't sabotage anything. He didn't sabotage any pictures, but what he _did _do made Max even angrier.

"Where are half of the pictures that were in here?" asked Max, whose anger was beginning to boil over.

"Well I took out half the pictures where you looked like a fool—and by that I mean more than usual—and I hid them somewhere you will never find them," said Bradley, mischievously and crossed his arms.

Max looked over to Bradley's bed and swore he saw something stick out from under his pillows. Ignoring Bradley's protests, he marched over to the bed lifted up the pillows and found the stolen pictures hidden not-so-cleverly under them. Max retrieved the pictures and gave Bradley a look that said, "Is that the best you can do?"

"Hiding the pictures under your pillows? If you're going to steal, the least you can do is hide them somewhere clever," said Max, fighting the urge to laugh in Bradley's face. He went to put the album in his bedroom and came back to the guestroom to clear out anything that Bradley could use against him.

"You know, _Maxie,_" Bradley said tauntingly and Max scowled at Bradley using the nickname his dad gave him, "you have a lot of interesting things in _your _room," Bradley smirked. Max stopped whatever he was doing and whipped around to face Bradley.

"What did you do to my room?" asked Max, who was so close to seizing Bradley by the throat.

"Honestly, nothing. But I didn't know you had jewelry in your room," Bradley taunted as he held up a familiar looking necklace.

"I don't have any …" Max didn't finish that sentence because the necklace Bradley was holding belonged to his deceased mother. "Bradley, give that back," he hissed, warningly.

"Why? Was it something you were going to wear to an 'Ugliest Princess Party', because you would be a shoe-in for first place," Bradley taunted.

"Give it back to me. It was my mother's," Max warned again in a low, and somewhat sad tone.

"'Was'? What happened to her? Did she die? Run away?" Bradley continued to bait him.

"That's for me to know and you to guess about. Give it back or I'll strangle you," Max snarled, whose growing anger was almost reaching its climax.

"I don't think so," Bradley sneered. Bradley rushed out of the room with the necklace still clasped in his hands and Max on his tail. The two boys ran to the bathroom and Bradley turned around to find Max facing him, looking ready to commit bloody murder.

"Bradley I will bash your head in if you damage that necklace," Max growled viciously.

"Try and get it Maxie," Bradley taunted. Max let out a murderous yell and lunged for Bradley. Bradley had a tight grip on Max's arm that was grabbing for the necklace. The two boys struggled against the other so much that they toppled onto the tile floor and the Bradley accidently tossed the necklace and it landed into the toilet. After a few seconds Max and Bradley got over the impact of the fall. Both searched around for the necklace. Bradley was the first to find the necklace in the toilet and a sick smile came over his face. Max caught the sick smile and the fact that Bradley was looking into the toilet. He put two and two together and realized that the necklace was in the toilet.

"Bradley don't you dare flush that toilet!" he yelled. Bradley continued to stare at him with the sick smile and flushed the toilet. Max's eyes widened and he rushed over to the toilet to see his mother's necklace swirl in the toilet water and rush down the hole in the toilet, never to be seen again.

Max slowly looked up and saw the triumphant smirk on Bradley's face. Max officially lost his temper. He drew back a fist that hit Bradley square in the jaw. Bradley staggered back and before he could retaliate, Max rushed at him punching and kicking him in every place he could reach. Bradley grabbed hold of one of Max's arms and twisted in an awkward way that caused Max to yell in pain. Both boys kept fighting belligerently until they reached the top of the staircase which caused both to topple down the stairs. Max chased Bradley into the kitchen.

Bradley noticed a stray golf club in the corner, grabbed it, and wielded it like a sword. Max noticed a frying pan on the stove and grabbed that. They began fighting again, trying to hit the other with what they were holding, like two knights in a duel.

Meanwhile outside, P.J., Bobby, and Goofy were still waiting in awkward silence for Max and Bradley.

"How long is this going to take?" asked Bobby, throwing his arms in the air.

"Well this _is _Max and Bradley we're talking about. It'll probably take a lot of arguing before either …" P.J. was cut off when the sound of banging and yelling reached their ears.

"What is going on in there?" asked Goofy, loudly. Bobby slid the back door open and, as if on cue, Max and Bradley came out still trying to hit the other.

"MAX! BRADLEY!" exclaimed Goofy. Max and Bradley ignored him and Max knocked Bradley's golf club out of his hands. Bradley ducked another blow from the frying pan and used this opportunity to seize Max by the waist and throw him down.

"P.J., get your father _now_!" Goofy shouted. P.J. ran next door to get his father, calling his name frantically. Goofy and Bobby rushed to pull the boys apart. Bradley was now carrying a swollen, black eye and Max had several bruises on his cheeks and along arms. Max was struggling against his father's grip while Bradley was struggling against Bobby's.

All commotion stopped when the sight of Pete's gigantic feature met their eyes.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF PETE IS GOING ON HERE?" Pete bellowed at the top of his lungs. He gave a firm glare at Bradley. "If you are going to be working for me, I don't want you giving my business a bad name by getting into petty fights. IS THAT CLEAR!"

"Yes Mr. Pete sir," said Bradley, weakly.

"How did this begin?" asked Pete. Bradley and Max began talking over one another trying to explain their side of the story, which just resulted in them arguing back and forth at each other.

"ENOUGH!" Pete shouted. Max and Bradley stopped arguing at once and stared at Pete fearfully.

"Max you explain how his happened," said Pete.

"WAIT! Why does he get to explain?" Bradley demanded heatedly.

"I may not be fond of the kid, but he seems more likely to be honest," said Pete as if it were obvious. Max smirked in Bradley's direction while Bradley scowled. Max gave an entire retelling of what happened with knocking Bradley's door down, Bradley going through the family album, and stealing pictures out of the album. Of course Bradley tried to protest when he felt certain parts of what Max said were either exaggerated or made up, but a few firm glares from everyone—yes even Goofy—silenced him. What got Goofy's attention was when Max mentioned the incident with his mother's necklace.

"Wait? Bradley did what?" he asked, not believing his ears.

"He stole Mom's necklace. I told him _exactly _who it belonged to but he still didn't give it back. He even laughed at the fact that she either died!" exclaimed Max.

"So she died. She didn't run away? Was the death by suicide because would be understandable—"

"SHUT UP STUCK-UP CRUST!" Max bellowed and was now breathing heavily through his teeth and his eyes almost red with rage. Bradley did 'shut up' but not without a piercing glare at Max. Max took a deep breath and continued. "After that I was forced to chase him into our bathroom. I struggled to get the necklace and the struggle caused the necklace to fall into the toilet, and you wanna know what His Royal Lowness did?! He flushed the toilet so now the necklace is on its way to who knows where!" Max shouted those last few words.

He was breathing heavily and nobody said anything and tried to distance themselves from Max who looked ready to attack any one of them. Goofy got everyone's attention when he walked up to Bradley. His expression was hard to read, but anyone with eyes could tell he was far from pleased.

"You had no right to do that, Bradley. That necklace was given to her from me on our wedding day. I let Max keep it to make her death easier to handle. And for the record, she did not commit suicide. There was a car accident in December and she got hit on her way home from work," Goofy closed his eyes trying to block out the monotone voice of the doctor telling him his wife was killed. Bradley felt slightly guilty for what he did, but he still believed that it could've been avoided had Max left him alone.

"Anyway, uh … just to make sure things can stay peaceful for the rest of the night. Bradley, Max, you two apologize to each other for your actions, starting with Bradley," said Pete, surprisingly calm.

"WHAT!" the two boys shouted.

"Why do _I _have to apologize to _him_?" exclaimed Max, outraged.

"I don't owe him anything, least of all an apology," Bradley stated stubbornly.

"You two will apologize or do you want to deal with me?" said Pete, threateningly. Max and Bradley swallowed and their eyes widened with fear. Deciding that they would rather face an entire army of bulls than deal with an angry Pete, they turned to each other, frustration evident of their faces.

"Max, I am _so _very sorry I flushed your dead mommy's stupid necklace down the toilet and insulted her _tragic _death. I am also sorry I stole your oh-so-important leftover pasta and sabotaged your family album," said Bradley, with sarcasm so obvious even Goofy couldn't miss it.

"Bradley, I am _incredibly _sorry I beat you to a pulp after your despicable act. It was out of line and immature. I am also sorry I threatened to kick your door down and actually followed through with it," said Max, also with sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Boys, Pete meant for you to apologize to one another, _without _sarcasm," said Goofy, exhausted from all the commotion Bradley caused.

"Mr. G.," whispered P.J., "this is probably the closest Max and Bradley will _ever _come to being civil, just accept it," P.J. begged. Goofy nodded, reluctantly.

"Okay, Bradley come over to my house for dinner and I'll have Peg get some ice for that eye of yours. P.J., you come home too," Pete suggested.

"Bu-bu-bu-bu-but Dad! Can't I have dinner with Max tonight? I don't want to be anywhere near _that_!" P.J. protested pointing at Bradley.

"NO! You come home tonight!" Pete demanded. P.J. sighed, mouthed an apology to Max, which Max just waved off, and trudged back to his house with his father and Bradley.

"I better get home before my mom finds out I snuck out of her house," said Bobby, and roller skated home.

"C'mon Maxie, I need to get some ice on your arms," Goofy began examining where Max was injured, "and knees, and cheeks, and thighs, and shoulders. Were you two fighting or trying to permanently misfigure each other?" asked Goofy, incredulously.

"I'll have to go with the latter. And Dad, the word is _dis_figure," Max corrected. Goofy nodded and sighed. _This is going to be a long summer, _both of them thought.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2. And I want to say thank you to the two Guests, CloverofCourage, and XxSparklePopsxX for the kind reviews


	3. Goofy's Ultimatum

**Responses to my reviewers**

**Guest: You love this story? Thanks because these first few chapters are the least eventful things that happen in the story. I thought the part where Goofy mispronounced 'disfigure' is one of my favorites too. While writing this story, Goofy is purposely smarter than he usually appears in other programs, but I also didn't want to stray too far away from his loveable character so I make sure to have enough moments where he mispronounces a word, doesn't catch onto something quickly, or trips on something. Yes Bradley deserves a little more than a black eye, but he will get his just desserts. Peg has a **_**lot**_** to say to him.**

**Guest: I'm glad you think this is getting good. It will get better as long as you keep reading.**

**CloverofCourage: I'm glad you liked that I mentioned you. I don't get many reviewers and I'm grateful for the ones I do get.**

**XxSparklePopsxX: I'm now in the habit of mentioning my reviewers. I don't get too many and I might as express my gratitude to the ones I do have. I'm glad you thought this chapter was "awesome-sauce". Yeah, I like Goofy's line too and I'm glad you found it funny because comedy isn't my strong point in writing.**

**Now here's Chapter 3! Enjoy!**

"Well it seems to me that you got exactly what you deserved," said Peg, unimpressed with the 21-year-old she was tending to. P.J. explained everything Bradley has done since he arrived and some of the things he had done during their time at college.

"Excuse me but I'm the one who is carrying a black eye, a cut lip, and several bruises!" Bradley exclaimed, offended.

"You are also the one that bullied Max, Bobby, and my son whenever you got the chance," she retorted, snidely.

"It's Max's fault! All he had to do was say yes and—"

"And what exactly? Abandon his friends? Become an arrogant jerk like you? He didn't join you Gammas because he has common sense, something that _you _obviously lack," Peg snarled.

"I don't need you running your mouth to make me feel worse than I already do," Bradley snarled just as viciously.

"'Running my mouth'? Well don't you think you're something? You have the boldest and most immature mouth I have ever seen," she said, lowly and with a scowl plastered on her face.

_You should talk, _thought Bradley. But he didn't say this aloud because he wasn't dumb enough to provoke this crazy lady any more than he already had.

"I'm sorry ma'am," he apologized, insincerely. Apparently Peg had noticed the insincere tone he used.

"I'll believe it when I see it," she said, snootily. "I haven't seen you do anything to make up for the injuries you caused the innocent contestants of the X-Games."

"I'm already losing my pride. Isn't that punishment enough?" he asked, distressed.

"No. You have to actually _do _something in punishment for your actions. Working at my husband's car business ought to put you into shape," said Peg in a condescending manner.

"Wonderful," he muttered, sarcastically.

For the rest of the night, Pete explained to Bradley what to do during work. Bradley tried very hard to pay attention but it was difficult since his right eye was black, swollen, and throbbing. Bradley responded with nods, "yes sir", and "I understand" to everything. By nine o'clock he was sent back to the Goof household. When he walked in the door, Goofy was placing ice packs on many bruised areas on Max. Bradley took some pleasure in the fact that he inflicted just as much pain on Max as Max had on him. It took about three minutes before either one of the Goofs had noticed Bradley's entrance. When they did see him, he was greeted with a fierce glare from Max and some cold indifference from Goofy.

"Hello Bradley. How was dinner with the Petes?" asked Goofy, more politely than what Bradley expected. Then again, this man was more forgiving than the average person.

"Fine," he answered simply. He didn't feel like having a full length with him.

"Just so you know Pete wants his workers at his business an hour before it opens. You should get up at 7:30 so you can get there at 8:30," Goofy explained. Bradley nodded in his direction. He headed upstairs and snatched his phone and dialed his father's friend, Marco.

"Marco's Light Emporium. Marco speaking," said Marco.

"Marco, its Bradley Uppercrust," said Bradley.

"Bradley! It's nice to hear from you. I hope things are going alright between you and your father," said Marco, genuinely sympathetic.

"Honestly, things could be better. But that's not why I called. I need the light you call The Blinder," said Bradley.

"Are you crazy? That costs 2500 dollars and your father's running broke!" exclaimed Marco.

"Don't worry I have it covered. But deliver it at 2:00 a.m. Text me when it arrives and help me bring up to my room," explained Bradley.

"Bradley this is ridiculous," Marco complained.

"I just need it to keep the Goofs out of my room. If they're smart I'll only have to use it once," said Bradley.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Marco, worriedly.

"I'll go mad here if I don't," Bradley grumbled. Marco sighed and reluctantly agreed.

~SSAYD~

The next day Bradley woke up still weary from the scuffle he and Max got into and the fact he was up at 2:00 a.m. He groaned as he tried to open his right eye, but it was still swollen shut from when Max punch him. The enmity he felt toward the sophomore only grew stronger. He turned to look at the clock and it read 8:17. He gasped and sprang out of his bed. He had to be at work in less than fifteen minutes! Why had no one tried to wake him up? Pete was going to KILL him!

By the time he got downstairs Goofy forced him into his chair at the table and tried to force some eggs, toast, and milk down his throat.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to be down here forty-five minutes ago!" Goofy demanded, shrilly.

"Nobody came to wake me up!" exclaimed Bradley, not caring that some toast spilled out of his mouth.

"I sent Max upstairs to wake you up at 7:30," said Goofy, as if it were obvious.

"I didn't hear him come in!" Bradley shouted defensively. Goofy then rounded on Max.

"You told me you went upstairs to wake him!" Goofy said, annoyed.

"Whoops," said Max, feigning remorse and smirking. Bradley now wanted to seize Max's throat and strangle him.

"You son of a…"

"Don't finish that sentence!" demanded Goofy. He shoved the remainder of the eggs down Bradley's throat and shoved him out the door and into his car. Bradley cringed at the color of the older man's car.

"Why is your car yellow?" asked Bradley, obnoxiously.

"The color of my car is none of your concern," Goofy retorted.

"Actually it is my concern since _I _will be in the car with _you,_" responded Bradley.

"It doesn't matter what the color of my car is as long as it gets you to work," said Goofy through gritted teeth. He couldn't believe how someone could be so obnoxious. He practically threw Bradley into the car and the 21-year-old boy just sat with his head in his hands out of embarrassment. Unfortunately they arrived at 8:40. For most people, they would let it slide and give the newcomer a warning. But with Pete, the consequences are frightening.

Bradley ran in through the door, frantic. "Mr. Pete I am so sorry I'm late! Max didn't wake me up in time and—"

"'And' nothing! There is no excuse for tardiness. Because you are late, you are going to stay until 6:30 instead of 5:30," said Pete, angrily. Bradley groaned and vowed revenge on Max for making him late.

~SSAYD~

Bradley stormed through the door so suddenly Goofy jumped and actually threw the bowl of popcorn he was holding during the movie he and Max were watching. Max protected his head as popcorn rained down on them. He turned to saw an angry Bradley in the door and smirked.

"How was work with Pete?" asked Max, tauntingly.

"Horrid thanks to _you! _He kept me at his business an hour later than he should have because I showed up ten minutes late! He made me do all the work with barely any guidance and expected me to know what to do! And this all happened because _you _didn't wake me up!" shouted Bradley.

"Don't you think you deserved after what you did with my mother's necklace yesterday?" asked Max, as if this settled it. Bradley let out a frustrated growl and stomped upstairs.

By the time Bradley was in his room, he let all his problems sink in. He was forced to stay at the stupid Goofs household because his father had run into a financial crisis and he was paying the price by working like a slave for a fat lazy man and only making fifteen dollars.

He then tried to do something else like sketching a picture of himself stomping all over Max's face. However, drawing only brought on the memory of Lucy Uppercrust, his sister who had ran away from home at the age of sixteen. He was only thirteen at the time and didn't truly understand the reason for her departure and honestly, he still didn't. Sure she didn't agree with most of his father's morals, but all children disagreed with their parents on something. Was it really that strong that she felt the need to leave the family?

He then tried just staring out the window, but that only got him thinking about having to protect the object in the black box. He knew that Marlene Jacobs and her minions will go to any means to get the object. His father still hasn't told him what the object does, but he knew that Marlene's wicked scheme could not work without it.

To get his mind off Lucy and the object in the black box, he tested The Blinder to make sure it work the way it should. He didn't test in on himself since he would go blind, but he had to made sure it turned on and that the light was bright enough. He was almost hoping Max would knock on his door so he could use the light on him.

Meanwhile downstairs, Max was in a heated argument with his father. Goofy wanted Max to apologize for making Bradley late for his first day of work.

"Max this is for your benefit. If you keep giving Bradley a hard time, who knows what he will do? You saw what he did last year to all those innocent children," Goofy pleaded for Max to cooperate. However, Max's stubbornness refused him to listen.

"You can't honestly make me apologize to him! Do you even remember what he did yesterday?" exclaimed Max, furiously.

"I am painfully aware, but my mother always told that when you deal with people like him, it's important to be the bigger person," explained Goofy.

"But being the bigger person means I have to be nice to him, and I don't _want _to be nice to him," Max complained, rather immaturely.

"Max please. It will just make things easier," said Goofy. Max groaned and stomped to Bradley's room which was unsurprisingly closed. He pounded hard on the door to get this over with.

"Brad!" Max yelled.

"Go away!" Bradley yelled back.

"My father's forcing me to apologize to you so come out and I can this over with."

"Just apologize now."

"I can't he wants it to be face to face."

"Well I can't do that."

"Just open the door. He watching me at the foot of the steps and won't leave until I apologize directly to you."

"Too bad."

"Do I have to come in there?"

"If you come in you will deeply regret it."

Max groaned and swung the door open anyway. "Look Bradley I am really not in the mood for fighting so can you just let me apologize and—what is that?!" In Bradley's room was a gigantic light that took up half of the guestroom and Bradley was wearing a safety mask. He pressed a button and Max was met with a bundle of white hot light that burned his eyes. He clutched his eyes, screamed, and collapsed to his knees.

"Maxie!" Goofy screamed and ran to his son's aid. Max was grunting and groaning in pain. "What did you do to him?!"

"Well I _did _tell him he would deeply regret it if he came into my room so—"

"No Bradley, what did you _do_?!" Goofy repeated venomously.

"DUDE YOU BLINDED ME!" Max shrieked at the top of his lungs and tried to feel around for Bradley.

"You did _what_?!" Goofy yelled.

"Temporarily. You'll have you eyesight back in an hour," said Bradley, nonchalantly.

"YOU STILL BLINDED ME! WHERE ARE YOU?" Max screamed. He continued to feel around for Bradley and Goofy stopped from colliding with a wall.

"How did you even pay for that thing? I though your father was close to broke," asked Goofy, incredulously.

"Oh yeah, I used _your _credit card," Bradley smirked.

"_What_?!" Goofy yelled in disbelief.

"I used 2500 dollars on that thing," Bradley bragged. Now Goofy was ready to strangle him. He would have yelled at the boy had Max not beaten him to it.

"Listen Brad! You disable that stupid thing now!" Max yelled at him, but he was facing the wrong direction.

"Max he's this way," said Goofy, turning him so he's facing Bradley.

"You disable that stupid thing now!" Max repeated.

"Max I think I should take you to your room," said Goofy. When he returned, he faced Bradley, angrier than he could ever remember feeling. "I don't know what your problem is! Why do you feel the need to torture us like this?"

"It's called payback for ruining my good name, and my relationship with my father," sneered Bradley.

"You did that to yourself! You know what? I'm calling Sylvia and telling her to take you back!" Goofy stated.

"You can't do that. I deleted Sylvia from your contact list on your phone," Bradley bragged. Goofy's mouth opened and closed like a fish's and scrolled through his contact list only to find that Bradley was right.

"I swear you can such an… such an…" before Goofy could finish, there was a crash and a loud yell that belonged to Max.

"AHH! Dad my bed collapsed!" yelled Max. Goofy rounded on Bradley.

"Did you have something to do with that?" Goofy snarled.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," said Bradley, snidely. Goofy had enough. He rushed to Max's room and dragged Max by the arm.

"I am not going to put up with this for the next two months. As punishment for _both _of your behaviors Bradley will be joining you, P.J., and Bobby for when you head to the skating ramp in town," Goofy stated. Bradley and Max began yelling several objections to this statement, but they were ignored.

"Stop it! I am giving you an ultimatum. If you two don't start getting along by the end of the first week in July, I will call up Sylvia to take Bradley to some other care, if she can find one. And Max, there will be no skateboarding for the rest of the month," Goofy stated as a finality.

Max and Bradley eventually agreed to this, but it didn't stop them from glaring hatefully at Goofy. When Goofy left the room he could he them whispering things about him about how he was treating them like children and had no right to do so. Even though they were coming together against him, Goofy could see that they were at least agreeing on _something. _Honestly, he saw this as progress, even if it was very little.


	4. Connecting the Dots

**School for me has started so don't expect too many updates. I'll try my best, but there is no guarantee. To the one Guest who reviewed the last chapter of this story: thank you. I'm glad you liked the little peek into Bradley's past that I added. I never really liked Bradley, but I also felt that something must have happened to make him into such a jerk. As for Max making Bradley late for work, it seemed in-character for him to do that to Bradley and I'm glad you liked it. I felt it was a little low for him too, but he was also understandably bitter at Bradley for many reasons so his actions were not completely reprehensible. **

**Here's Chapter 4. Enjoy!**

It was July 1, which marks the end of the first week Bradley had arrived. Bradley had managed to make plenty of money, eighty dollars a day to be exact. But things were not as light-hearted and happy as they usually were in the Goof household. In fact, Goofy had not been his, well, goofy self since Bradley arrived. He had been quieter, more serious, and his normally very patient temper was becoming much shorter and more prone to being lost, although it was nowhere near as bad as Max's or Bradley's.

Neither boy had talked to him, or to each other, ever since Goofy gave his ultimatum. He was sad that Max was mad at him again after just making amends with the stubborn teenager. But he felt if it would make them get along and keep things low-key, it would be worth it in the end. He hoped all things would go well when Max and Bradley head to the skate park today.

"While you boys are at the skate park, I don't want to hear that you two have gotten into any fights. Is that clear?" said Goofy, sternly.

Both boys muttered a "yes", but that did not stop them from sneering at him. He was glad that Max had his eyesight back after Monday's fiasco. Honestly, if Bradley could buy a light that blinded people for six hours, who knows what else he could do? This added to the reasons why he wanted them to get along with each other. Goofy knew they hated him for treating them like five-year-olds, but it was the only way to get them to stop acting like it and get along. It would make the summer so much easier for everyone.

When Max and Bradley stormed out of the house, Max was red-faced and furious. Why couldn't his dad just let him handle this on his own? Granted he hadn't handled the situation very well, but most of the problem was Bradley's fault! And yet, his father was reprimanding _him _for the problems that have happened! _Bradley _flushed his mother's necklace down the drain! _Bradley _blinded him for six hours yesterday! _Bradley _was the whole reason he had a problem with the jerk in the first place! And yet Goofy was telling Max to "hold your tongue around him," or "be the bigger person," or "don't give him any reason to hurt you." Why couldn't his dad take his side and reprimand Bradley?

_I'm his son! He should be sticking up for me, not telling me off, _thought Max bitterly.

Max and Bradley arrived at the skating ramp. Bobby and P.J. greeted Max with a jubilant and simultaneous 'hey man' along with two high-fives. They greeted Bradley, however, with curt nods and stiff "hellos". It is obvious that they didn't want Bradley with them any more than Max did.

"So what are you sophomores doing?" Bradley asked in a bored and lofty tone. Max scowled at the condescending attitude, but shook it off to avoid arguing with him.

"We are practicing new skateboarding tricks for next year's Summer X Games. We wanted to know if you had any ideas whatsoever," Max stated.

"Can you show me what you have been practicing?" asked Bradley, a little more interested.

"Well we've been practicing more difficult moves. The basic moves we've already mastered, but it's not enough. I'll show you a move I've been practicing called the Alpha Flip," said Max. He performed the Alpha Flip. It was pretty good, but there was plenty of room for improvement.

"I'm still trying to get it right, but I'm not quite there yet. Any suggestions?" he asked. All three boys were expecting some snide comment and they were surprised at what he did say.

"It's not a bad start. But, your balance is a little bit off. Here, position your feet like this," said Bradley and he used his own skateboard to demonstrate, "because you feet are a little too close to one end and it might tip the skateboard if you're not careful. Try it now," he explained. Max did as he was told and it surprisingly was better than the previous time he tried.

"Wow, that was brilliant!" exclaimed P.J.

"Yeah man. How did you learn that?" asked Bobby.

"I had plenty of practice," said Bradley, cockily.

"I'm sure you did," muttered Max, although lighter than he felt in a while.

Bradley continued to be a big help for the rest of the time being and Max, P.J. and Bobby were good at helping Bradley as well. Bobby and P.J. thought that Max and Bradley were finally able to get along. They were both relieved—for Max's sake of course—that a fight hadn't broken out yet because they heard about Bradley temporarily blinding Max just for coming into his room. It was obvious that the two boys weren't friends yet, but they had been able to be with each other without arguing. However P.J. whispered this to Bobby aloud and he wished he hadn't jinxed it. After two hours of practice, and argument between Max and Bradley broke out when Max tried to show Bradley how to perform the FS Disaster. Max's criticism wasn't exactly constructive and Bradley kept performing the trick incorrectly, just as bad as the first time.

"Bradley, you're supposed to pop the board at a 180 degree Ollie. Yours is more like a 200 degree Ollie!" exclaimed Max, frustrated.

"Your criticism isn't very helpful," Bradley retorted.

"It would be if you would just listen!" said Max, exasperated.

"Fine, you try it if you think you're so perfect!" hissed Bradley. Max scowled at him. He performed the FS Disaster much better than Bradley, although it wasn't perfect.

"Your FS Disaster didn't look that much different than mine," sneered Bradley.

"You just can't except the fact that a sophomore might actually be better than you in something skateboard related," Max taunted, unkindly.

"Or maybe, you're just too cocky to realize that some people actually have to _practice _more than a day to finally get something right," spat Bradley.

"_I'm _cocky!? You're the one who refused to let P.J. and Bobby on your team because you thought you were _so _above interacting with them! Well that little mistake cost you the College X Games didn't it!" exclaimed Max, as if this settled it.

"Don't pretend that you don't know how damaged my life has become thanks to you! If it weren't for you and your idiot father, _my _father wouldn't hate my guts right now, and I'd still have some of my old friends!" exclaimed Bradley.

"Firstly, don't call my father an idiot, only I can do that. Secondly, every bad thing that happened to you is entirely _your _fault! You're father probably would have still been proud of you if you hadn't cheated and risked the lives of so many innocent people! Do you know how many people were sent to the hospital because of you and your Gamma goons?" said Max through clenched teeth. He hadn't been this angry since… well this morning. But he still didn't like the feeling and Bradley had been the cause of it.

Bradley looked away sadly, and still angry. "Skateboarding was the only thing that gave my dad a reason to be proud of me. Now I don't even have that," said Bradley, deadpanned.

"That's not my problem. And it doesn't excuse what you did to all those people," Max retorted, though without the same righteous anger he had a few seconds ago.

"I know that," said Bradley, shortly, "But either way you would have beaten me, and my dad wouldn't have liked me any more than he does right now."

Max so desperately wished he had something cutting and cruel to say to that, but unfortunately he didn't. He didn't stop glaring at Bradley though because he didn't want Bradley to believe he was getting to him so easily. He was grateful when P.J. intervened.

"Ugh, I think it's time to break for lunch," suggested P.J., awkwardly.

Nobody objected to this idea. They all decided to grab a bite to eat at small café. They engaged in a bit of small talk, and although it wasn't much, they all continued it as an excuse not to think about the previous argument. However arguments with Max became the least of Bradley's troubles when his cell phone went off.

"Who is it?" asked Max.

"I don't know, the number's blocked," said Bradley, worriedly. He picked it up anyway to see who this creep was.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Bradley darling, it's wonderful to hear your voice. I haven't seen you in two years," said a sly, cunning, female voice.

"Who is this?" asked Bradley. _Please don't let this be who I think it is._

"Don't tell me you don't remember Lil' ol' me, Marlene Jacobs?" she asked, tauntingly. Bradley tensed and quickly got up from the table and into the Men's room, ignoring the suspicious looks from the other three sophomores.

"How did you get my number?" he demanded.

"I do very extensive research. I also have been tracking your location. I know you're in Spoonerville," Marlene said, with an evil chuckle. He felt sweat appearing on his forehead.

"Why? What is so important that you feel the need to terrorize my family like this?" shouted Bradley.

"You have the last piece I need for my plan to work. And I'm going to find it," she said, overconfidently.

"How do you plan on that?" Bradley asked, sharply.

"I have spies in every city in Ohio, including Spoonerville. The spies in Spoonerville are called the Seven Strikers Gang. They still need to give me your address, but that shouldn't take too long," she said in her slick, sickening voice.

"My dad says you've been planning something for the past two years. What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Wow, your father is really dishonest with you isn't he. That would explain why Lucy left you—"

"Leave my sister out of this!" shouted Bradley. He didn't want to think about Lucy's desertion, especially with this vile creature antagonizing him.

"Aw, did I hit a soft spot?" she asked with false sympathy. "Well I've had the Seven Strikers Gang spy on you, and they will give you seven chances to hand over the item. Every time you decline, something bad will happen," she explained, sadistically.

"To whom?" he asked.

"To anyone who has any idea about what's going on. You'll know it when it happens. I've loved this little chat with you Bradley, but I have more planning to do. Toodles," she said vilely.

She hung up and Bradley collapsed against the wall, feeling like he might throw up. It was going to become even harder to keep Max, Goofy, and their friends ignorant to Operation-Protect-The-Black-Box. He couldn't stand them, but there was no way he was going to put them in danger. This was his fight, and he will fight it alone. His thoughts were interrupted by Max walking into the bathroom, looking worried.

"Who called you?" Max asked.

"It was nobody. It was the wrong number," Bradley lied.

"It must have been more than that because you're sitting on the floor of an unsanitary restroom clutching your stomach as if you would throw up," Max stated, as though it were obvious. "I also heard you say something about somebody planning a scheme for two years and—"

"Look, let's just finish out lunch and head home," Bradley suggested.

"But—"

"Now!" shouted Bradley. Max did as he was told. He along with Bradley, Bobby, and P.J. finished their sandwiches. Max did not mention what he heard to P.J. and Bobby because he thought it would scare them to pieces. The walk home was silent and awkward. Max made occasional glances at Bradley who still looked like he had seen a ghost. Max asked several times what's going on, but Bradley would either try to change the subject or snap at him to shut up. The two boys walked into the house and saw Goofy watching the news.

"Hello boys. How was the skate park?" asked Goofy. Both boys murmured "good" which sounded insincere. Goofy narrowed his eyes in suspicion but decided not to question it.

"What are you watching?" asked Max.

"The news. There have been three more kidnappings," said Goofy glumly.

"More? Has anyone been caught yet?" asked Max, incredulously.

"Unfortunately no. I can't believe that there have been more kidnappings in Ohio for the past two years than in any other state," said Goofy, exasperatedly.

Max looked over to see Bradley looking extremely worried.

"Um, I think I need to check something in my room now, bye!" Bradley said abruptly.

Max pondered these actions and though back to some of the suspicious events that have happened.

…_been planning this for the past two years…_

…_more kidnappings in Ohio for the past two years…_

And Bradley runs out of the room when he sees the kidnapping on the news. Max connected the dots and had a theory that Bradley and whoever mysteriously called him was connected to rise in kidnappings in Ohio.


End file.
